4 Exercise Myths That Keep You Fat
Educating yourself before starting any program will help you maximize your results. Forget the exercise myths and do the work.
4 Exercise Myths Debunked that May Be Keeping You Fat
There are a few exercise myths that many of us believe will make us look better. If you hate the way you look in a swimsuit, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the weather is colder and you don’t have to worry about how you look on the beach. The bad news is that the winter is ahead, and so are the holidays, which means you will be covering up that body and probably gaining weight at the same time. So, as usual, I’m here to help – AGAIN. Time to debunk some of those common exercise myths. Today, I am running my mouth and spitting out the facts on fitness and exercise myths that may be making and/or keeping fat on you.
Debunked Exercise Myths #1: Doing crunches or working on an “ab machine” will get rid of belly fat.
Don’t we wish it was that easy? Think about it. Everyone would be walking around with a six pack if that were true. Unfortunately, the people sporting six-pack abs are a small minority. Don’t believe me? Look around at the people in your house, neighborhood, or even who you work with at your job. How many of them are sporting a washboard stomach?
Do not believe everything you hear on those late-night infomercials! While an ab-crunching device or simple crunches might “help strengthen the muscles around your midsection and improve your posture,” being able to “see” your abdominal muscles has to do with your overall percentage of body fat. If you don’t lose the belly fat, he says, you won’t see the ab muscles. Leaning out is the best strategy for getting it done. Continuing to focus on exercise without eating properly will condemn you to a ‘kegger’ stomach rather than the coveted six- or eight-pack.
Debunked Exercise Myths #2: Swimming is a great weight loss activity. Yeah, it is. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to drown the fat from your body by lapping the pool.
Yes, while swimming is great for increasing lung capacity, endurance, coordination, muscle control, increasing muscle tone, and even helping release some unwanted stress, unless you are swimming for hours a day, it may not help you lose much weight at all.
The reason why? Buoyancy. This property of water supports your body and allows you to not work as hard as if you were on land. So, you are actually getting less out of a workout that you may assume. If you compare the work output of the average swimmer versus the average walker/runner, most likely the land-goer is expending much more energy. Let’s face it: who wants to risk drowning by passing out when working too hard?
The best practice is to track your caloric output when you run versus swimming, along with your heart rate, and compare the two. If you are burning more in the pool, great. But if not, you may need to increase simple things like the speed at which you swim laps and the various strokes you use. Doggy-paddling just isn’t going to cut it, folks.
Debunked Exercise Myths #3: If you’re not working up a sweat, you’re not working hard enough.
Both True and False. Simply put, sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion or effort. In actuality, sweating is your body’s way of cooling itself. We aren’t fortunate enough to regulate our body temperature by panting like our canine friends. We have to use the water to remove heat through evaporation.
And yes, while you are putting forth some effort in your workout, if you happen to sweat, don’t be fooled. There are much more important and measurable things that hint at how hard you are working. Things such as heart rate, respiratory rate, caloric output, and blood pressure changes (anything higher than 20 mm HG is too much). You don’t have to soak your clothing to get results. And let’s face it: some people just don’t sweat that much. So it’s possible to burn a significant number of calories without breaking a sweat: Try taking a walk or doing some light weight training.
Debunked Exercise Myths #4: Fasting will help me lose weight quicker.
WRONG!!!!
Your biggest weight loss will come during sleep if you raise your metabolism. It’s all about energy expenditures.
If you expend a lot of energy, your body knows that it needs more of it. Most energy systems of the body (if not all) are time-dependent – more time, more energy released. When you are awake, you’ll tap into CP, ATP, or even glucose-driven systems. So your brain anticipates what activity is about to be called upon and communicates to your body in a lot of the above-mentioned fancy jargon that simply says, “I don’t have a lot of time, I need to burn quickly.” So your body responds and acts accordingly.
So that’s it for now on exercise myths, gang. Hope you learn something new by taking a look at these exercise myths. Big take away: there’s no easier way to maintain good health than to live smarter. Educating yourself before starting any program will help you maximize your results. Forget the exercise myths and do the work. Take care, and look for my new health book, FAT FREE FOR LIFE: 13 PRINCIPLES OF GUARANTEED WEIGHT LOSS AND ULTIMATE HEALTH, from CHARISMA HOUSE, on January 6, 2016.
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About the Author
Dr. Braxton A. Cosby, a licensed physical therapist with his Clinical Doctorate from the University of Miami, has over 14 years of professional experience as a presenter, program facilitator, Certified Clinical Instructor, Sports Nutritionist, and Personal Trainer. braxtoncosby.com
